One Special Love (One Night Only 2)

“Another!” he calls out after me, putting the bottle down with force. It rolls and falls onto the wooden floor. Thankfully it’s still in one piece.

I look at him in annoyance, his ‘please’ attempt is long forgotten, I see. The urge to kick him from the bar is so tempting, but I took another deep breath and grabbed his beer.

“Next time try not to drop it,” I ask him nicely with a fake smile before turning my back to him for another customer.

The bar gets crowded in minutes, making me forget the ‘problem customer’. Seeing new faces in here makes me happy and proud because I feel like this bar is mine instead of my dickhead of a boss. He doesn’t even stay here as much as he should, he comes in, barks orders, criticizes everything even though he has no idea how this place works, and then he leaves. Toby and I make this place work. Toby and I work our asses off to fill this place with people and our effort finally shows itself.

A group with WSU hoodies choose themselves a table. Their laughter gives the place a young and carefree feeling - just how a bar should be.

“Hey, beautiful. Can I get seven beers for my group there?” A guy smiles at me with the same hoodie.

“Sure. College trip?” I point his hoodie as I put beers in front of him.

“Kind of. I have a small cabin up in the mountain. We thought it would be fun to stay there for the weekend before the league starts.” He smiles with a sweet dimpled smile. He is a good-l

ooking guy, well-built and cute.

“Another!” I sigh when I hear Mr Grumpy’s voice. “I said another,” he roars this time when I don’t look at him - his voice becomes kinda slurry.

“You take care of his order. I’m here. I’m Landon, by the way.”

I bend down to get another beer for Mr Grumpy and say “Acacia” to Landon over my shoulder as I walk to the other end of the counter.

Sighing in irritation, I put the bottle in front of Mr Grumpy with more force than I should. “Here is your beer. Forgot your manners already?”

“I don’t want beer, bring me a whiskey,” he says like I had never said anything to him at all. He doesn’t even look at me.

What is his problem for fuck’s sake?! And where is Toby? He would handle this guy without risking losing his job.

I sigh deeply as I fill him a glass of whiskey and put it in front of him without saying a word. He downs it even before I have a chance to turn around. His shoulders launch forward like he’s carrying the weight of the world on them. His head is bent toward his chest and my hand itches to rub his fisted hands or give him a kind of peace. Something about him and his unmistakable pain under the cold surface make me stop in my tracks, causing my mind to have a short circuit. It’s almost like I can feel his sorrow - it’s like mine. I don’t know how to describe it, I don’t know how to explain it, but when he looks vulnerable like this, I feel an urge to comfort him.

It’s ridiculous, though. Why do I feel this urge when I almost hate him?

And I don’t even know if my theory about his ‘pain’ is right, but the gut feeling in me says I’m not wrong. And because of that, because his sadness is so sincere, I can’t stay angry at him.

“Another?” I ask him before he does.

“Yes,” he breathes out, almost like a choke. I fill him another one and go back to the college boy.

“Sorry for the wait. League, huh, are you on the team?” I ask when I see he is still waiting for me without any attempt of going back to his friends.

“Yep. Cougars,” he snorts. “All those guys are,” he motions to the group with his head. I look at the group who are laughing away, every guy has a girl on his lap, and they don’t seem like they care about the beer at all.

“They seem like they’re already having fun.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles.

“You seem lonely,” I tease him when I notice there is no one waiting for him on the table.

“I was hoping to find some company, to be honest. But my boyfriend and I ended things. Plans can change, right?” he huffs, and his face breaks a smile before asking “Too much info?”

I laugh, “No. I was just thinking…” I trail off when I see Toby is entering the bar in panic. “Acacia, sorry. I overslept then my bike didn’t work. I had to walk all the way,” he says, panting.

“Another!” Mr Grumpy yells and adds another reluctant, “Please.”

“Coming right up,” I tell him before turning to Toby. “It’s fine. You take care of my friend Landon here. His friends are kinda occupied right now.” I wink at him.

“Landon. That’s Toby. I need to deal with Mr Grumpy right there.” I start walking before giving them any chance to answer, but I catch a glimpse of both of them checking one another out.